5.  On 19 June 2002 Flux published on its first page the title of an article due to appear in a future issue together with a summary of the article. The title of the summary was “The red millionaires” and it was accompanied by a big picture of the leader of the Communist Party parliamentary group, Victor Stepaniuc, wearing a top hat.
6.  The summary read as follows:
“The Communists want to sell off piece-meal the Anenii Noi canned food plant
The Anenii Noi plant is the only undertaking in the region which is still alive. The rest of the plants have been sold off piece-meal. Since the Communists came to power, a campaign to liquidate this plant has commenced. Certain members of the Parliament of Moldova wish to dismantle it and sell it off piece-meal. Sources from the plant told our newspaper that the member of Parliament M.A., who is responsible for Anenii Noi County, with the support of the main creditors ... is behind this dirty affair. Having great influence and parliamentary immunity, he wants to fill his pockets following the sale of the plant.
At present the plant is not operating and is making substantial losses, and this situation is being used to maximum advantage by this MP. Since the plant is not operating and is not profitable, the shareholders want to liquidate it. The problem is that the plant could operate if the shareholders did not hinder the plant's staff.
(A detailed article about this affair will be published in the Friday issue on page 5)”.
7.  The next day, on 20 June 2002, Mr Stepaniuc brought civil defamation proceedings against the newspaper and against the author of the article. He argued, inter alia, that:
“... the defendants disseminated information which is defamatory of me as a citizen, an MP and as the leader of the Communist Party parliamentary group ...
... the article, which is accompanied by my picture, contains the following defamatory statements: 'The Communists want to sell the Anenii Noi canned food plant off piece-meal' ... 'Since the Communists came to power, a campaign to liquidate this plant has commenced. Certain members of the Parliament of Moldova wish to dismantle it and sell it off piece-meal'.
By publishing this article, the defendants, acted in bad faith, misinforming public opinion about my actions in my capacity as MP and also about the activity of the Communist Party parliamentary group which I represent, accusing us of destroying an enterprise which is part of the national economy.”
8.  On 21 June 2002 Flux published the article announced in its 19 June issue. The article was based on the account of V.N., the deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Anenii Noi canned food plant, and reported on events concerning alleged attempts by a Communist parliamentarian (M.A.), to have the plant declared bankrupt and sold off. It stated, inter alia, that the parliamentarian had made use of the Tax Authority and other State bodies for that purpose and that he (M.A.) had told V.N. that his actions were supported by the Communist Party parliamentary group. According to V.N., three other plants from the region had already been declared bankrupt and sold off in the same manner.
9.  On 1 August 2002 Judge I.M., who was also President of the Buiucani District Court, ruled in favour of Mr Stepaniuc, relying on the following grounds:
“From the content and meaning of the article [of 19 June 2002] it is clear that Flux and the author made defamatory and false accusations against Mr Stepaniuc, in particular to the effect that he, in his capacity as MP and leader of the Communist Party parliamentary group, had engaged in actions directed at destroying enterprises within the national economy of the Republic of Moldova for personal gain.
In addition, the article was accompanied by a picture of the plaintiff.
The defendants did not present in the article any proof of the truthfulness of their accusations.
In such circumstances, the court considers it necessary to note that any article should be sincere, correct and contain only truthful revelations which correspond to reality and are not based on rumours, anonymous letters or inadequately checked information from unreliable sources.
The defendants, however, did not abide by common sense and unjustly defamed the plaintiff.
Accordingly, the defendants clearly overstepped the limits of constructive criticism of public persons necessary in a democratic society.
In the court's view, the fact that the plaintiff's name was not given in the article is not conclusive, since his picture and the meaning and content of the article make it clear that it is directed against him. Consequently, he was exposed to mental and moral suffering which should be remedied by the defendants.
In establishing the compensation to be paid for non-pecuniary damage, the court shall take into consideration the considerable vehemence of the attack against Mr Stepaniuc, the large readership of the newspaper and the degree of suffering endured by the plaintiff.
The court should also take into consideration the public functions occupied by Mr Stepaniuc, that of MP and leader of a parliamentary group, which should increase the award for moral damage. Therefore the court considers it necessary to award the plaintiff the maximum amount of compensation provided for by the law.”
10.  The court found the statement: “The Communists want to sell the Anenii Noi canned food plant off piece-meal” to be defamatory and ordered the newspaper and the author to pay the plaintiff 3,600 Moldovan Lei (MDL) (the equivalent of 270 euros (EUR) at the time) and MDL 1,800 respectively. It further ordered the newspaper to issue an apology within fifteen days. The defendants were also ordered to pay the court fees.
11.  The newspaper lodged an appeal against the judgment in which it argued, inter alia, that the article had been directed against M.A., another MP from the Communist Party parliamentary group and not against Mr Stepaniuc. The latter's picture had been published in order to make it easy to identify the Communist Party parliamentary group, since he was its President.
12.  The applicant also argued that the impugned article was only an abstract of an article to be published subsequently and that the statement found by the first-instance court to be defamatory was merely a subjective conclusion drawn by the author based on the information published in the main article. The applicant further submitted that M.A. had also instituted defamation proceedings against the newspaper and requested that the two actions instituted by Mr Stepaniuc and by M.A. be joined and examined together.
13.  The applicant finally argued that Judge I.M. lacked independence and impartiality because he was a friend of Mr Stepaniuc and had been appointed President of the Buiucani District Court by the Communist Party parliamentary group. The majority of the defamation cases between Flux and Mr Stepaniuc were examined by him personally and his decisions were stereotyped. In other defamation cases between Flux and representatives of the Government, Judge I.M. had always ruled in favour of the latter and had awarded them the maximum amount provided for by law.
14.  On 6 February 2003 the Chişinău Regional Court dismissed the appeal as being unfounded. It did not take into consideration the article published on 21 June 2002.
15.  The newspaper lodged an appeal on points of law, relying on the same grounds as in its appeal and added, inter alia, that the impugned article merely reproduced the opinion of the management of the Anenii Noi canned food plant.
16.  On 1 April 2003 the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal. It stated, inter alia, that it was clear that the information published in the article about Mr Stepaniuc did not correspond to reality; moreover, his picture had been attached to the article.
17.  It appears that the defamation action brought by M.A. against Flux was struck out due to M.A.'s failure to appear before the court.